A Different Life
by whitedandelions
Summary: After a long life full of disappointments and betrayals, Harry Potter finds himself half drowned in a lake of a different world. The one who saves him has eyes just like his and a personality that makes Harry dream of a better life. HarryxHiccup.
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Different Life  
>Summary: After a long life full of disappointments and betrayals, Harry Potter finds himself half drowned in a lake of a different world. The one who saves him has eyes just like his and a personality that makes Harry dream of a better life. HarryxHiccup.<p>

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><p>The first thing he saw were green eyes. It startled him because well, he didn't know anyone else that possessed the same shade as his. He didn't move, but the owner of the green eyes didn't have the same reservation as him, moving forward to rest a hand on his forehead.<p>

Harry closed his eyes at the contact, finding comfort in that simple act. It reminded him so much of the good things in life, things that no longer belonged to him.

He fell back unconscious with that thought, dreaming of Hermonie and Ron and Hogwarts.

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><p>He woke to lips on his. He startled, groggily blinking his eyes open as his brain struggled to keep up. He didn't know who was above him, but it brought back an instinct in him that he thought was long dead. He lazily circled a hand into the hair of the person above him, drawing the boy closer, and turning the mouth-to-mouth contact into a kiss. The person startled above him, letting out a yelp as he struggled to get free.<p>

Harry reluctantly let him, and watched as the person scrambled back, looking at him with furious eyes. Suddenly, angry words in Norse were being yelled at him, and Harry couldn't help chuckling at the other boy's anger. The boy was wearing armor and looked to be in his early twenties. The most prominent thing about him that Harry noticed was the metal contraption that served as one of his feet.

Harry slowly sat up, looking around the glade and taking in his surroundings. Where was he? They looked to be in a glade, what with the many leafy trees hanging over them and suddenly he realized he was sopping wet still.

He didn't feel his wand on him, but years of experience had taught him how to summon it from many miles away. After being separated with his wand so many times, it became a necessity to find a way to summon it. Concentrating hard, he was able to find out his wand was at the bottom of the lake behind him, and by simply pushing a little bit of magic into his thoughts, his wand came speeding out of the lake and into his hands.

The boy looked startled at the action, and now seemed to be more wary of him as Harry started to raise his wand. He knew he had to hurry before the boy turned hostile. He cast a drying charm on himself and then a temporary language charm. He would need to perform a ritual or learn it the normal way if he wanted to keep his grasp of Norse permanently.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter."

The boy perked up at his Norse, coming closer to Harry as the words registered, but the wariness stayed in his eyes. There was no recognition of his name, though Harry hadn't expected there to be. He was far away from home after all; people here wouldn't have heard of the Boy who Lived, let alone the Boy who Never Aged.

"Toothless," started the boy, his upper teeth worrying his lower lip. He paused and seemed to struggle to find the words he wanted to say.

"Your parents named you Toothless?"

That startled a laugh from the boy and he paused as if he hadn't expected to find Harry funny. "Er, no, my name's Hiccup."

"That's not much better," Harry ended up offering truthfully, and the boy just laughed at his words before shrugging amicably.

"Well, we're Vikings. We're not known for naming our kids."

Vikings? Were there still Vikings around in this time and age?

"Anyway," the boy started again after an uncomfortable silence, "Toothless says you're not from around here."

"Is Toothless another Viking? You were right when you said your names were a little strange."

Hiccup was shaking his head before Harry even finished talking. "He says you're not from this world."

Harry's blood ran cold at the clarification and he couldn't stop his body from trembling. Flashbacks of being driven out of town over and over again for his rare condition and being told that he was a freak, a monster, dance in front of his eyes and he is once again reminded of the terror he had accidentally unleashed on himself a few decades back.

"I don't know what he told you, but just because I have a condition does not mean I am not human," he informed the boy coldly. He couldn't believe he had been starting to like the boy; he had even thought they could possibly be friends.

"No, no, no," spluttered Hiccup, and Harry knew his cold eyes were panicking the young boy. "Toothless is a _dragon_, he doesn't - he isn't bullying you. He really means what he says."

Harry was startled first at Hiccups hasty reassurance and then surprised completely when Hiccup alluded to the fact that he could talk to dragons.

"You - he - how do you understand him?"

Hiccup sheepishly shrugged at his question, "They don't call me Dragon Conqueror for nothing."

Suddenly, it dawned on Harry that the dragon might be telling the truth. That he may actually be in a different world. "I - Can I meet this Toothless?"

Hiccup smiled at his question before turning to holler the name over his shoulder. Within moments, loud crashing sounds fill the air and suddenly, a black beautiful dragon appeared from behind one of the trees. Toothless was bounding over seconds later and suddenly he was on top of Harry, one paw holding him down as the dragon roared at him.

Harry wasn't scared; he had enough protections in place to protect him from an angry dragon. He locked eyes with the dragon for a very tense moment. With a huff, Toothless backed off. Harry must have passed the test.

"He says that he hasn't met your kind before, but you smell like nothing he's ever smelled before. Kinda like cinnamon? And mint? And something dangerous." Hiccup's voice startled him; he had forgotten the boy was still there in the chaos that was Toothless.

"He was right," offered Harry as an explanation as he made his way back into a standing position. "I'm not from this world and I have an easy way to show you."

He waved his hand, causing a flower near his feet to bloom. A vine curled around his feet and a perfect blossom from a tree above him slowly drifted into his hand. Toothless reared back in shock, while Hiccup's mouth dropped open. Harry smiled at their actions before opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm magic."

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><p>AN: Is this shameless? Probably :P Mashing two different characters together is probably weird, but I'm really enjoying writing this. I'm just throwing this out there to see if people would be interested in reading this. Please follow/fav/review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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><p>He was floating in an abyss of nothingness. All around him were snippets of his memories; if he looked to the right, he saw his childhood with the Dursleys, to the left were his memories of Hogwarts. He didn't dwell too much on those memories.<p>

Memories of Hogwarts, of his past, were always hard to stomach. It had been so long ago that he was the carefree Harry Potter who had once sacrificed himself to save a world from a man so warped by his evil that he was barely human anymore.

Now he was someone else entirely. He had seen it all and had been so deliciously close to the end when he had woken up from sure destruction. He hadn't felt relief when he had woken up; instead he had felt pure disappointment. He was sure that his long life was coming to the end, but it looked like Fate had a different idea for him.

He was still needed.

Pure golden light streamed down, piercing the darkness and scattering the memories. He watched as the memory of being called 'freak' by the Dursleys flared at the edges, as if it was burning parchment. He felt the tug of a smile coming on at the sight, but it was wiped off just as fast as the entity in front of him materialized.

"Morgana," he murmured as a greeting, and was rewarded with a nod of her regal head.

"Harry," she returned.

"What am I doing here now?" asked Harry exasperatedly as he took in her figure. She was as he remembered, still dark-haired and beautiful as ever, elegance being held in every part of her body. She had a haughty look about her, and it showed in her expression as she looked down at him. He rarely ever saw her smile, but he still knew she was a revered figure in her own right. She wasn't to be trifled with, and Harry knew better than to tussle with her.

"Don't take that tone with me," she chastised and Harry simply shrugged in reply. He knew better, but he was still too old to care about such little matters. The Fates already liked to mess with him, and no amount of bad attitude would change things.

"I thought I was done. I thought that my duty was over and that I could finally join my loved ones on the other side. I was done a long time ago, Morgana, and it's only by yours and the Fates' choice that I'm still here. If I could, I would've offed myself a long time ago."

He could see his words had reached her at the flinch that reverberated throughout her body. He couldn't bring himself to care, instead wryly smiling at her as she struggled to compose herself.

"It was not my choice to keep you alive past your time. But it was my choice to send you here, Harry. You have played the part of Merlin's Knight long enough and it was time to let you have a well-deserved break. Things are different here, Harry, simpler if you could get past the dragons. Think of it as your reward." For the first time, Morgana was wearing the face that she usually showed to worshippers - the one of a Mother that spoke of nurture and love. Most times, she would show up with a sour expression, relating Merlin's wishes and molding him to better fit the job.

It was tedious, their relationship, but it was the longest one Harry had been able to keep, no matter how intermittent their meetings.

Flashes of the one fateful meeting that changed everything danced before his eyes. The Meadow full of everlasting nature. Sunflowers, daisies, and dandelions soft under his bare feet as he walked toward the towering oak tree residing in the center. The feel of the bark under his hands and his forehead as he had knelt to press his head there.

The loud, booming voice that had went to his very magical core.

And destroyed it.

Merlin had rebuilt his core into something that wasn't bound by his world's rules. He had made it overflowing, full of magic either from outside sources or within. There were no barriers between him and Magic. When he had spoke that line earlier to Hiccup and Toothless, he hadn't been lying.

He was Magic. He used a wand only as a pretense, to keep others from truly knowing what an anomaly he was. He could do magic with just a thought, just like Merlin had been able to do so long ago. He had been abysmal at it at first, but decades of practice had taught him how to refine it.

The first time he had used it he had lashed out angrily at the oak tree. He had been in so much pain, his body wracked by the convulsions brought on by the restructuring of his core. His memories were broken apart, scattered and dissected till only a few had remained. Merlin had selected him; he had passed the test and had been chosen as his new Knight.

It wasn't easy, carrying out Merlin's wishes and living his life as Harry Potter. Being Magic, his body became simply a shell, an encasing that was no longer like a regular body. He got scratches, but he didn't bleed. He never got a wrinkle, and Ginny's jealousy at that had been the main reason they had broken up. He was never hungry or sleepy; Magic did enough to sustain him.

And killing those who somehow ended up on the wrong end of Merlin's wrath?

It was done with just a thought.

The pure destruction he could wreak was completely terrifying. He hated the power; he hated that Merlin hadn't even _asked_ if he wanted to accept the Task. He was simply given the 'gift' and expected to spend the rest of his life paying for it.

He never abused his power. He suspected that was the one reason he was still alive today. And because he had become extremely good at carrying out orders. It was something different from the mundane life he had started to live. After all, what was the point of life if nothing _ever_ changed?

"Don't kid around with me, Morgana," he said, wearily, but still kept up a weak smile for her sake. "Merlin never does things without reason, and just because I've been sent to a different world doesn't mean I've given up the mantle of Merlin's Knight. It'll be a long time coming before Merlin decides to let me go."

Morgana sighed at his response, her expression speaking of pity and sadness. "I told him we should have let you go a long time ago. The burden is too much for just one to bear."

Harry shrugged, "I thought I was doing a good job of carrying out his orders."

"Yes, there was never a doubt of that. But at what cost? I'm sorry, Harry," and for the first time Harry could remember, Morgana took his hands into her own. "But we'll make it up to you. Just enjoy your time with the Vikings and the Dragons, and you'll see soon why we have sent you here."

Before he could respond, the piercing lights were gone, and he was again floating in the nothingness.

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><p>When he awoke, he startled awake, sitting up in mere seconds. The person who had been hovering over him reared back, barely missing a collision. It took Harry a while to adjust to the new scenery, and just like hours before, Hiccup's worried face swam into view.<p>

Harry managed a weak smile at the dragon rider, settling into a more comfortable position as he took in his surroundings again. They were still in the glade from earlier, but now it was nearing the afternoon instead of sunrise. He must have fallen unconscious when Morgana had taken him, as she usually did with no regards of where he was in the real world, and had probably scared Hiccup witless.

The boy confirmed his thoughts, "I thought you died! You weren't even breathing and you didn't have a pulse. If it wasn't for Toothless being able to sense something otherworldly was going on, I would have probably buried you."

"Oh, don't feel too be about that," teased Harry, "I would have been able to magic right back out."

Hiccup gave him an unamused glare, prompting a laugh from Harry. "Are you going to explain what just happened?"

"Can't," responded Harry truthfully, "maybe one day they'll let me, but for now, let's just file the incident under magic."

Hiccup huffed, a mock pout on his face, "Fine. I was going to take you back to the village, but then I realized your clothes would probably stand out too much. So I went back and got you some of my old clothes," he paused to gesture over to an outfit laid out upon a large rock near the lake.

Harry murmured his thanks before making his way over to the rock that Hiccup had gestured to. "These clothes don't look like yours," mentioned Harry as he continued to examine the clothes carefully.

There was a short laugh before Hiccup responded. "Well, I need something more durable when I'm on Toothless. Unless you want to become a dragon rider, those clothes should suit you just fine."

Harry gave short chuckle, a smile starting to form on his face. "No, I can fly on my own. I just prefer to keep my feet on the floor.

"Afraid of heights?" teased Hiccup. The man had moved closer to Harry, and although he stayed a short distance away, he settled down, cross-legged on a similar rock mere feet away, leaning back and reclining comfortably.

Harry paused at the question; it evoked something in him that made him pause to think. He hadn't been afraid of anything in a long time. How could he be when he could accomplish things with merely a blink of the eye? He supposed the only thing he _was_ scared of was Merlin, but Hiccup wouldn't know who Merlin was.

"No," he responded eventually, "just scared of catching your particular brand of insanity."

"Hey!" Hiccup shouted, offended. He sat up to shoot a mock glare at the wizard, but the edges were twitching toward a smile. "I'm perfectly normal, thank you very much."

"Uh-huh, you're riding a dragon miles up into the air with no one but Toothless to keep you from plummeting to your death. If that's not insane, then I don't know what is."

"But," protested the brown-haired teen, "it's not really dangerous. I mean, six years in and I'm still alive and kicking. And besides you're magic! You're already not normal."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head fondly at Hiccup's argument, having heard it all before. He turned back to the clothes in front of him, his upper teeth worrying his lower lip as he continued to contemplate his next course of action. In a few more minutes, he came to a decision, and immediately started to strip, starting with the muggle t-shirt that he had arrived in and ending with the tight skinny jeans that he had to shimmy out of. After getting everything off except for his boxers, he turned to lay his old clothes to the right of Hiccup's. He was just settling down to transfigure the clothes to something more to his liking when his concentration was promptly shattered by a splutter from Hiccup. He turned to look at the dragon rider and was rewarded with the sight of a completely red Hiccup. Even the tip of his ears matched the furious flush that was spreading across the boy's cheeks.

"You can't just go around taking off your clothes like that! You gotta warn a guy first!"

Harry stared blankly at the Viking before a huge smile started to spread across his face. Twenty years of age and still so innocent. Hiccup was absolutely, wonderfully _adorable_. "Does my nakedness bother you?" he teased, spreading both of his arms out to the side and laying his chest out to bare. Harry wasn't as shy as he used to be; living as long as he did and knowing it would be forever sort of obliterated any shyness that he used to possess. He loved his body, and he didn't mind showing it off. Especially if he got a red-faced Hiccup every time as a reward.

Hiccup blushed even harder, if that was possible, before closing his eyes and exhaling hard. "You're teasing me," he said in a flat voice after a minute, and Harry couldn't help the short laugh that escaped him.

"I'm sorry," he responded truthfully, "but I can't help but think you're absolutely adorable."

Hiccup flushed again, "Why do you - What - I." The dragon rider trailed off, seeming to be at a loss on how to respond to the obviously more experienced man. "Just put your clothes back on."

"You mean putting _your_ clothes on?" Harry grinned at Hiccup's mock glare; obviously the Viking wanted no more of his teasing and he took the hint, turning to get back to his original task.

He didn't need armor like Hiccup, but that didn't mean he didn't want it. Not for practical uses; any projectile or melee weapon would be thrown away by the shields he had around his person at all times. But armor looked _cool_ and since he had the means to make any kind of clothes out there, he might as well. He fashioned his armor after Hiccup's, and wove in a couple of protection charms and warming charms in the furs. He also lightened the furs to a lighter brown, taking on a red tint and fluffing it out a bit so it would sway in the wind. He also added a hood and fixed the boots so they would fit in more comfortably. It barely took any magic out of him, and it was only a few minutes later that he finished.

He pulled on the clothes, to a whispered 'finally' from Hiccup, prompting Harry to shoot the boy a smug grin. The boy was so cute; he fondly thought back to his younger days when he had just graduated Hogwarts. He wondered if he had ever been so mullish and hot-tempered.

"How do I look?"

Hiccup shrugged, though a smile was playing on his lips. "You look great, though I do take offense to the fact that you changed my clothes so much."

"I can change it back if you want."

Hiccup shook his head, "I'm kidding, I have more than enough spares anyway. Now that you look like one of us, I'm guessing we should head back to the village now? It's almost dark out and I might as well introduce you to Berk before they take you as an enemy."

"Do they do that often? Mistake friends as enemies?"

"Well, let's just say that Vikings don't have the best temperament. You'll see when you meet them."

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><p>Sorry for being so late guys. School really kicked my butt as soon as it started...and I had Chapter 2 all written out but I totally lost the sheets of paper I wrote it on so I lost all my inspiration… But then i got a recent review and my muse suddenly came back. Thank you guest! :)<p>

Sorry for the super weak ending...probably the weakest chapter ending I've written in the longest times haha, but I figured I should get this out before I forget about it...my other stories I have everything written but just won't update haha and I don't want this to happen to this story.

Thank you all for the brilliant reviews/favs/alerts! :D I didn't think this story would get so much attention considering it's a super strange pairing, so thank you! :D.


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